Robert Dukes on Drawing

Painter Robert Dukes argues for drawing as an essential artistic activity.

Dukes writes: "Drawing and painting are very closely combined. This might seem a surprisingly obvious statement: after all, the act of painting could hypothetically be broken down into drawing, colour and tone – yet some serious observational painters nowadays hardly draw at all. For me, regular drawing (with a pencil) is necessary for me to 'get my eye in.' In order to perceive colour-shapes clearly, I need to draw first... painters should draw constantly, in order to see, and therefore to paint."